Foresting for Answers
by BlazeAsh
Summary: Forrest never wanted to be a pokémon trainer. However, when his sister disappears, circumstances change. His whole life is uprooted as he travels from his hometown of Cerulean City to Mossdeep City, Hoenn. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

General Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. It belongs to Nintendo!

-x-X-x-

I don't like pokemon. I really don't. Pokemon training is in no way appealing to me.

Sure, there are _some_ uses for pokemon out there. Certain flying pokemon deliver mail, the machop family helped move us in, and so on. However, I never liked these pokemon. In reality I am a bit afraid of each and every one.

Call it stereotyping, but I can list a reason why I hate almost each type.

Bug pokemon are just plain creepy, crawly, and nasty. Sure, Butterfree and a few others can be exceptions, but a butterfree still wields some nasty psychic and poison abilities.

Dark pokemon are mean and most of them are evil.

Dragon pokemon can be described with one word: Ferocious. Granted, a dratini is sweet and almost cute. But once that thing evolves into a dragonite... Say goodbye to your jugular.

Electric pokemon are perhaps one of my least favorites, having had many encounters with Voltorb and Magnemite in the nearby power plant whilst playing with friends.

Fighting pokemon want to beat you up and snap you in half.

Fire pokemon have no qualms about turning you into a pile of ash.

Flying pokemon would willingly scratch or peck your eyes out.

Ghost pokemon are scary, mischievous, and want to steal your soul.

Grass pokemon will happily snare you with vines and strangle you to death.

You can be drowned by water pokemon.

Steel pokemon can do all sorts of fun stuff. Smash you like a rock pokemon, or perhaps slice you to bits.

Psychic pokemon are manipulative and untrustable.

Poison pokemon are perhaps the worst of all. They gain pleasure from watching your life slowly slip away into nothingness.

Ground pokemon are simply filthy. But worse than that, they can swallow you up into the ground and suffocate you.

And lastly, ice pokemon would think it was _cool_ to freeze you in a block of ice.

About the only pokemon without anything too bad they can do to you is the normal type. And there's even a few exceptions there. Namely kangaskhan, tauros, and ursaring. Let sleeping snorlax lie, as well.

I'm not really paranoid. That thing about the grass pokemon is perfectly reasonable. Though, a lot of my friends did not think so. They were all extremely fascinated by pokemon. That's why we ended up playing at the power plant. However, that's not exactly relevant here. Besides, they're all off being trainers now.

It's not that I was never exposed to pokemon. In fact, it was the complete opposite. My mother won the indigo conference in her younger years, though she never traveled outside of Kanto except for a few trips to Johto. She did not even participate in the Silver Conference. Thus, she has an entire team of pokemon that live with us. Now, she spends her time breeding Eevee pups from her Jolteon.

Do I have a baby Eevee? No. Have I been offered one? A thousand times.

My mother was a bit disappointed by this fact. Especially in the shadow of my elder sister of three years, who had left at ten to become a coordinator. Now seventeen, she's won the Ribbon Cups of both Kanto and Johto.

From what I hear from my sister, our father was quite the trainer as well. He'd won both the Indigo and Silver Conference. However, that's all we really know as our Mom refuses to speak of him for the most part. He left when I was four to take of the Hoenn League and has not been back since then.

Perhaps that's part of my disdain towards pokemon. Or perhaps it's because I don't exactly get along well with any of my mother's.

Either way, all I know is that I dream of opening up a noodle cart. For that, I need no pokemon's assistance. Sure, my mother tried to protest that, trying to convince me to become a pokemon trainer. Right around my twelfth birthday, two years ago, she gave up.

Now, just a a few weeks after my fourteenth birthday, something has changed. Something that has shoved me, unwillingly, into the world of pokemon.

-x-X-x-

A/N

So, yeah! Prologue-y good stuff!

Reviews are appreciated! :)


	2. A Family Reunion Without Me

My eyes flittered open, wincing back as a cascade of sun ascended upon them. I hugged tightly onto my stuffed teddiursa. Guaranteed, I was not a fan of pokemon. However, this was the only gift I had from my grandmother on my father's side, before my mom shut them out.

I bathed in the warm sun flowing through my window, taking in the morning rays. Days that started out like this could be nothing but fantastic. I lay there for a while, glancing over occasionally at the alarm clock as the minutes ticked away.

"F-Forrest..." My mother's unusually shaky voice echoed through the house. I rolled over to glance at my shut door. I let out a content sigh as the sun bathed my back.

"Please, come down here..." My mother shouted once more. I fluttered my eyes a few times, further waking. With a big yawn and a stretch I sat up in bed. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stood up with yet another stretch.

"NOW!" My mother's voice was now at her usual, commanding tone. I sighed, wondering why it had been different before. Begrudgingly, I trudged out my bedroom door and down the hall to the source of her shouting.

As I entered the kitchen, I noticed three figures sitting at the table. My eyes flickered back and forth. One was obviously my mother, her jolteon on her lap.

_"Strange,"_ I thought, noticing how flared the jolteon's spikes were.

My eyes made their way to the second figure. A girl with curly blonde hair which framed two deep blue eyes, _"I know that I should know who this is..."_ My eyes flickered over to the next figure.

"Willow?" I gawked. Sitting there in the third seat was my cousin. Her piercing green eyes matched my own, marking our relation. Though, while my shaggy hair was a muddied maroon color, hers was a fiery red pulled back into a ponytail.

My eyes danced back to the second figure, remembering where I'd seen her. _"Topaz?" _That was my sister's and my cousin's traveling partner. But if they were here, _"Oh, Arceus..."_

"Where's Sylvia?" I choked out.

My mother's eyes softened to an unusually caring state, "That's what this is about, sweetie," My heart sunk into my stomach, she never calls me sweetie. "Sit down..."

With a shaky hand, I pulled out a fourth chair. I slowly edged into it, noticing the other two pokemon at the table. Willow had a round green pokemon in her lap, which had yellow flower petals creating a garland around its skull. A brown and cream colored bunny sat in Topaz's lap.

"Wh-what's going on?" I managed. My teeth sunk into my lower lip, concern racing through my system. _"Is she dead? Comatose? What could have happened!"_

"Forrest, dear," My mother continued. Her eyes weren't red, nor were they puffy. She had not been crying. My heart leapt a bit, that meant it couldn't be that bad!

"I know we don't talk about him much, but..." My mother lost her words, tongue-tied to move on. Willow's eyes flickered over, sympathizing with her aunt.

"Your father is back around," Topaz moved on for my mother.

I could feels my eyelids strain as my eyes shot open with suprise. My dropped, feeling as if it had sunk to the floor. The chair I had been sitting it shot back across the room, echoing a loud crack as it slammed into the wall behind me. Without another word I raced through the house, kicking every door open.

"Where is he?" I screamed through the house. Noone tried to stop me. I checked every room and doubled back, eventually returning to the kitchen. Panting, gasping for air I slammed my hands down on the kitchen table. Supporting myself allowed for better airflow.

"We didn't mean it like that," Willow offered, "He's not actually here..."

I regained myself, managing to gasp out my concerns on where he could be.

"Forrest," My mother began once more, "He found your sister,"

Panic raced through every inch of my body once more. I could hear voices, but could not understand what they were saying. My head spun and colors began to blur. Realizing that this was important, I clenched my eyes tightly shut and shook my head violently.

"- she went with him..." Topaz was speaking now. I stared blankly at her.

"So..." My mother sighed, "Forrest... He mentioned three spots."

"Are you each going to go to one?" I stared my mother down, desperate for answers. I had counted the trainers in this room multiple times. Mom, one. Willow, two. Topaz, three. Three trainers, three locations. Problem solved.

My mother took a deep breath, "I can't... I have to stay home for the breeding business..."

"What about the other location?" This question seemed idiotic to me, knowing deep down what the answer was.

Willow stepped in for my mother, "We were hoping," She took a deep breath, "You would do it..."

"Okay, I'll do it," My lips were moving and sound was coming out. _"What? I'll do what! Become a pokemon trainer and hunt down my estranged father and my missing sister?"_ I screamed inwardly at myself. Apparently my mental and physical self had different plans.

The three people sitting at the table all had shocked expressions on their faces.

Heaving in a large breath, I sighed, "So... Where do I need to go?"

My mom smiled weakly at me for a moment. Just as quickly, it turned back to its serious expression. "Mossdeep City, Hoenn,"

My eyebrow slowly crept upwards. Standing there, I simply stared at her. I tried to muster an intelligent thing to say, but all I could manage was a simple, "What?"

Topaz sighed deeply. Willow smiled to me, "The other locations are Goldenrod City, Johto and Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh." I couldn't help but wonder why she was smiling, "We figured you'd be hopelessly lost in any region. Topaz is from Sinnoh and I know my way around Johto. That's why we're taking those."

I understood the smile now. It enraged me, to be completely honest. I agreed to do this stupid task which, although they hadn't said so, would involve my becoming a trainer.

"Forrest," Before being able to snap at my cousin, my mother cut in, "Just go upstairs. Get dressed, and pack whatever you think you'll need. Willow and Topaz are going to head out and I have a call to make."

With that, I begrudgingly trudged my way upstairs. Slamming my door, I made my way to the closet. I undressed from my pajamas, opening the closet doors. I already had a basic idea of what I wanted to wear. A collared black shirt made it's way over my head and I pulled a brown vest over that. I left it unbuttoned. Grabbing a pair of green cargo pants, I pulled those on. From the bottom of my closet, I picked up a pair of black boots and a shoebox. I also grabbed a brown backpack I used for any traveling. It was prepared for any excursion i may have to make, with basic supplies.

With a heavy sigh, I sat on my bad and worked the boots onto my feet over the socks I'd slept in.

I flipped the lid off the shoebox and stared at the contents. A black bandana with a pokeball on it, a pair of green fingerless gloves, and belt that was capable of holding pokeballs. These were all accessories I considered too "trainer-esque" for my fashion sense, specifically the belt.

As I put all of them on, I felt awful. _"I don't want to do this!"_ I screamed inwardly. _"But, I have to, for my sister..." _I was having a moral dilemma. It was like I had a Mew on one shoulder and a Mewtwo on the other, both arguing with eachother.

I felt the bandana around my shaggy hair, then brought my hands down to glance at the gloves. Tiny goosebumps popped up all over my body. Taking a gulp, I slipped the belt through the loops of my pants.

I sighed one last time. This was becoming extremely habitual. Leaving the open box skewed across my bed, I headed downstairs for probably the last time in a long time.

"Forre-" My mom was calling as I walked in the kitchen, "Oh, there you are..." She was standing over the table. I glanced over her. Her purple hair was a polar opposite to my maroon. It had noticeably faded over the last few years. She was still young, which showed in her similar green eyes. My sister was born when our mother was just 18.

Traveling down, I scanned the contents sitting on the table. A small green device, five pokeballs, and various trainer supplies. Mostly potions and such.

"I'm so sorry you have to do this..." She confessed, "I know you didn't want to be a trainer..."

I shook my head, letting her know not to bother apologizing. _"And I still don't!"_ I ignored my inner thoughts, pushing on. Silently, I walked to the table, stuffing the supplies in my bag. I latched the five pokeballs on my belt. Lastly, I picked up the device. "What's this thingy?" I blinked at it, flipping it open.

"A pokegear," My mother explained, "I picked it up a few years back, in hopes you'd be a trainer by choice..."

"What is it for?" My eyes raised up to her, then back down to the device.

"Travel video phone essentially. A radio card could be picked up from goldenrod, and map cards are available for all the regions. The Kanto one is already installed, so you should be able to get to Vermillion City."

"Vermillion?" I asked, completely bewildered. I hadn't thought at all on where I'd be traveling.

"You'll pick up a boat to Hoenn from there," My mother blinked. I could tell she was suddenly becoming hesitant to leave this task up to me.

I slipped the pokegear into my pocket.

"Now," My mother walked around the table, standing just a few inches from me, "Go to the pokemon center and call Professor Oak. I just spoke to him, and he has a pokemon for you,"

My eyes shot open and my whole body began to tremble. My mother could tell I was suddenly becoming hesitant.

"Just go," She reconfirmed, "And good luck, sweetie,"

I took a hesitant step back towards the door. Thoughts of what terrible pokemon was awaiting me raced through my mind. I was going to be dead before this even began.

"Call me when you arrive in Vermillion City," She told me, "I love you,"

"Love you too," I gulped. With that, I turned and headed out the door. Mindlessly, I made my way to the pokemon center. The cool, crisp air of Cerulean City helped clear my mind. I knew the way to the center perfectly, having passed it many times.

I reviewed everything in my mind on the way to the center. My father had resurfaced to us for some reason. Not necessarily to "us" as a family, but to my sister. She had ditched our cousin and their friend to go with our father for some reason. We had absolutely no idea why, but for some reason they had their sights set on Goldenrod City, Mossdeep City, and Mt. Coronet.

Mossdeep City is my destination. I am about to get my first pokemon to help me get there.

Sudden ripples of laughter ripped me from my thoughts. At this point I realized I was in the pokemon center. Young trainers were pointing fingers and laughing at me from all spots of the center. I followed one finger and realized my fly was down. Blushing furiously, I pulled it up and made my way over to the video phones.

Sitting down, I cleared my throat. I punched in the number my mom had given me and waited.

"Hello?" A pair of nostrils popped up on the screen and I jumped a little.

"Uh, hi..." I ventured.

The nostrils backed up and revealed a boy around my age. He was wearing some casual clothing that looked almost tropical.

"I'm Tracey," He smiled, "One of Professor Oak's assistants. How can I help you?"

"My mother wanted me to call him. Apparently he has a pokemon for me?"

I groaned inwardly. It could not have been more than a half an hour since she called him. Should the great Professor not be expecting a call and be prepared to take it?

Tracey looked back, calling for the Professor. Tracey wandered off the screen and I heard what I thought sounded like a few books hitting the floor.

"Oh, hi!" And elderly man sauntered into view of the video. "You must be Forrest!"

"Yeah..." I humored him. I just really wanted this call to be over with. That way I could face the horror that was my first pokemon and the expected death that comes with it.

"So, I just thought I'd let you know... Usually you would have to sign up for one of the three starter pokemon and come to my lab to pick it up." The Professor indirectly scolded me. I rolled my eyes and he continued, "However, due to the circumstances concerning your sister... And because I have known your mother since I gave her her charmander when she was ten, I have decided to make an exception."

My foot was tapping under the video phone desk. Would he stop yammering and send me a pokemon? I was becoming impatient. I just wanted to get this pokemon and start getting this whole ordeal solved.

"Anywho," The Professor continued on, "Do you see the machine next to you?"

I just gave a simple nod in response. No need for words taking up time. The machine had a semi-sphere indent on a bottom pedestal. The upper portion had a red orb surround by a few metal "claws" of sorts.

"That is where the pokeball will arrive," The professor explained.

Professor Oak drew a pokeball from his coat pocket, pressing the button in the middle once. He placed it in a machine on his end of the call. I gulped, knowing my first pokemon was in that strange sphere.

"I apologize for not being able to provide a slightly more capable pokemon. This was the best i could do on such short notice," This man talked too much.

I suddenly gasped for air. The Professor raised an eyebrow at me. I just smiled weakly through the call to him. Apparently I'd forgotten to breathe in anticipation.

"Ready, Forrest?" The Pokemon professor questioned me.

I nodded my head slowly, watching the machine where the pokeball would arrive.

"Transporting now," The Professor stated rather matter-of-factly.

I squinted my eyes as a few rays of bright, white light formed a ball in the machine before me.

The light faded away. I stared in awe at the sphere before me. I swore inwardly, noticing a lightning bolt sticker plastered on the ball.

Though a bit of nervous fear coursed through my body, I was actually excited. I'd never wanted to be a trainer, but now that a pokemon was sitting in front of me- _My_ pokemon- I was excited.

"How about you you let your new pokemon out and become acquainted?" The Professor suggested. It was obvious, but I was in awe of the object sitting before me.

Tentatively, I reached out. I gingerly took the ball from the machine, and brought it to my lap. I held it with both hands, admiring it.

"Forrest?" The Professor tried to gain my attention. "Just let it out..."

I gently dropped the pokeball to the floor, releasing a brilliant flash of white light...

-x-X-x-

A/N

First real chapter and it leaves on a cliffhanger? Yeah, I might be a mean person. Haha, I promise I won't do that often. Buuuuuut... How else am I supposed to hook readers? ;)

Please R&R!


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